Nanami Hamako
by La-Femme-Feline
Summary: These are all seperate oneshots I did for my best friend concerning her OC and a handful of the characters of Naruto. Sexyness ensues! Kankuro, Deidara, Neji, Kiba, Itachi, Kisame, Shikamaru, Sasuke, Pein, Gaara, Sasori, Tobi, Sai
1. Kankuro

"So you're saying that I have to do this mission?"

"Yep."

"Really?"

"Really."

"This is my first one."

"It won't be your last."

I sighed. "Your contradictory nature is not helping me," I grumbled.

Ayumi waved a hand impatiently at me. "Not the point. Your mission won't be a problem. After all, what guy wouldn't follow you around."

I threw my hands in the air, "But a seduction mission?!"

Ayumi gave me a hard look. "Nanami, chill."

"A seduction mission?!" I cried, still freaking out.

"Nanami," Ayumi said, grabbing my arms and shaking me, "Nanami. You can do this. Okay?"

I slumped to sit on my friend's couch. Breathe in, breathe out.

"Better?" she asked after a few minutes.

"I guess," I stretched, feeling the muscles in my back pull, "Do you at least have any tips?"

Ayumi shifted. "Rule number one: be confident. If you don't feel sexy, act like you do. Rule two: don't overdo it. Be coy. Play hard to get. Do not drape yourself all over him. Contrary to belief, men like a challenge. And rule three?" She looked me deep in the eyes. "Don't do anything you don't want to. Don't let him do anything you don't want him to do. It's just a mission. You just need information on the Sand's dispersion of ANBU, okay?" Ayumi patted my hand reassuringly, and then pulled me into a hug. "You'll do great."

Behind her back I flipped open my bingo book again, staring hard at the purple-tattooed ninja. Kankuro, puppet master of the Sand, brother to the Kazekage, and my target. Great.

*8*8*8*8*

The bar was smoky, there were lots of people, and I felt ridiculous. I tottered towards an empty barstool on freaking tall high heels. Ugh, I really felt ridiculous. I felt my hair, teased into some sort of messy style, and my face, which felt like it was under at least half a ton of makeup. Not to even start mentioning the fact that I was dressed like a stripper. My top sincerely couldn't go any lower, and my skirt couldn't get any shorter. Otherwise, I'd be naked. I crossed my legs conspicuously.

"What do you want to drink?" the bartender asked, wiping a grimy glass. I almost smirked. What would he do if he knew I was completely underage – even for entrance to this bar?

"A Lady L," I replied coolly, playing with my fingernails as though I was too good to look him in the face. He messed around behind the bar, while I dubiously watched what the heck he was giving me. I had spent days agonizing over the bar's drink menu, wondering what to order. Beer was too unlady-like, while wine made me look like a snot. A cocktail it was. I glanced at the clock on the wall. My target should be approaching any minute now – he came to this bar at exactly 9:34 PM every Wednesday night like clockwork.

"Here you go," the bartender said, sliding a pale blue beverage towards me. He looked at me expectantly. What? Oh, right – money! Now where had I put it? Did I have any pockets? It wasn't anywhere in my nonexistent clothes, was it? A bead of sweat dripped down the back of my neck. Crap.

"I'll take care of it," a male voice said somewhere behind my left shoulder. A hand flipped towards the barkeep, a thick wad of paper between two outstretched fingers.

"Oh, sir," the man stumbled out, and made a short bow, "How generous of you; so very generous!" He took the impressive billfold as though it might disappear before his eyes. I would've done the same thing. That had to be three times the amount I usually made as a ninja in a month.

"No problem," the voice continued in that swift, easy banter, "It's not often I get to treat a pretty lady to a drink." I spun around slowly, head tilted back coyly.

"Thank y-," I began, before I got a closer look at the guy's face. Oh dear god. It was my target. I immediately doubled the protection on my chakra signature and changed my tone of voice. "Surely you don't mean me?" I tittered, fluttering my eyelashes just so.

"Who else would I mean?" he said, a crooked smile breaking across his clear face. I almost did a double take. One – he was dressed in civilian clothes, face wiped clean of purple ninja paint, and second – I felt my heart skip a beat as I took in his smile. I liked it. I blinked, cleansing my mind of the odd thought and continued.

"What a compliment," I murmured, gazing into his brown eyes for a split second, "I thank you."

"It's an easy one to give with your looks," my target replied, sliding into the barstool next to me. I really did not see the difference poofy hair, small clothes, and a sludge of make-up on my face did to make me suddenly wanted by a high-caliber shinobi, but if that's what it took – fine. "What's your name?" he asked.

"Kaya," I said demurely, taking the smallest sip of my drink, "And yours?" The tiny taste I took sure packed a punch. I could taste the alcohol burning down my esophagus.

"Seiji," my target drawled out smoothly, "I've never seen you here before." Ha, liar.

"Just passing through," I smiled, meeting his eyes again, "I don't stay in one place too often."

"Someone after you?" he asked, almost convincingly concerned.

"No," I mentioned, "I don't stay in one place too long." I took another drink from my Lady L. "It gets . . . boring."

"So is Suna . . . boring?" he asked.

"Well, it suddenly got very interesting," I grinned, "Very interesting indeed."

My target cupped his hand around his face, leaning on his elbow, "Oh really?" He smiled – a million watt grin.

"Really," I replied, trying to draw him in with my eyes like Ayumi said I could.

"So, after you finish your drink, you wanna go see the town? Since you won't be here long and all," he proposed.

I did the split-second hesitation technique that we learned. "Well, I don't know . . ." I murmured, biting my lip in uncertainly.

"C'mon, I'm a nice guy," 'Seiji' pleaded, devastatingly clever grin on his face.

That's not what the bingo book said.

Not like I could resist my mission's bounty though. Tempting, tempting.

"Sure," I smiled, "Why not? This is probably one of my last nights here anyways."

"Alright, let's go!" he exclaimed, hopping to his feet to extend a hand to me. I took a last sip of my half-full drink and allowed him graciously to help me up from my chair. His touch on my elbow was burning, but tender, with rough hands that guaranteed years of rough work and blood, and yet, the fingertips delicate, though scarred. I found my footing on my skinny stilettos and off we went, leaving my glass and the bar behind us.

We walked for a while, bright lanterns every so often to break up the night. I looked at the sky with astonishment. The stars were so bright! I hadn't seen stars like that for years.

"Kaya?" my target asked perplexedly. I almost flinched, not realizing that I had stopped to stare at the sky with abandon.

"Yes?" I replied pleasantly, "What is it?"

"You're staring off into space?" he guessed.

"Indeed," I replied, thinking quick. I had to get the information out of this guy soon. My legs were already cramping up from my killer shoes and I didn't know how much longer I could go being Ms. Sexy. "They remind me of my lover."

"Lover?" he said, eyebrows raised, wry smile on his face.

"Yes," I said, gliding towards him, "I loved him very much – and he died. That is why I travel, if I stay too long in one place-" and with that I brushed against him, giving a heartfelt sigh, " – I get . . . lonely."

"Well how long have you been here?" he bantered.

"Too long," I breathed, tucking my hair behind my ear and pouting, "Entirely too long." Those last words I whispered into his ear. I felt him quake as my mouth barely touched his earlobe.

"Well, we wouldn't want you to get lonely," 'Seiji' suggested, wrapping a warm arm around me. I snuggled in closer, ignoring the thrums of heat zapping through my chest.

"No, we wouldn't," I agreed, sealing the deal by peering up (wantonly, I believe the term they taught us was called) at his mouth. It was a very pleasantly-shaped mouth. Much more pleasant though when it was on mine. His lips were heated, molding to mine in a kiss that was far from chaste. If this wasn't a mission, I would feel like a slut.

I let my hand slide down his neck, dipping into his shirt. If I could just find the right pressure point to knock him out, then I could temporarily possess him and figure out the specs for my mission . . . but he tasted too good . . . way too good . . . like strawberry pocky . . . yum . . .

Get ahold of yourself, Nanami! I felt around his neck some more, pretending to stroke the nice, amazing skin . . . Dammit! I was doing it again! I tightened my shriveling resolve and would have gritted my teeth, were it not for my target's talented tongue currently sliding along my own. The bump in his neck . . . above the collarbone, below the shoulder muscle . . . there!

And suddenly I couldn't move. It was like being caught in the Shadow Possession jutsu. I froze, my finger quivering on my target's skin.

Then I was spun around and bound. My target smirked grimly down at me, chakra strings running from his fingers to around my body, "So . . . who are you? And what village are you from?" Damn! Double damn! I forgot his signature jutsu – art of the puppet master!

"Seiji?! What are you doing?! What are you talking about?!" I exclaimed, playing dumb, "What is this?!" I twisted weakly against the bonds, tears gathering at the corners of my eyes as I stabbed myself with a fingernail. "Seiji?!"

"Don't mock me," my target sneered, tightening the strings until they began to cut into me, "Answer my questions." I cried out as he flicked his fingers, a rivulet of pain flowing into me. "You're kunoichi."

"Fine," I countered, stupid foofy hair falling messily into my eyes, "I'm kunoichi. Let me go."

"Were you sent here to assassinate me? To get information about Gaara? Where are you from? What is your mission?" he roared, "Do you know who I am?"

"Duh," I spat, eyes blazing.

"So say it," he hissed, "Say my name." He yanked at the threads, causing trickles of blood to spill from my arms where the strings bit into me.

"Kankuro," I drawled harshly.

"Good," he replied, loosening the threads around me, but still keeping me restrained. "Now, what shall I do with you? Kill you? Sell you?" At each new suggestion, he twisted me around, a mere puppet, one where he could manipulate into moving a leg or arm or my whole body. Dear god.

Kankuro apparently had the same twisted idea I did. Ho-ly shoot.

"Maybe I should just do whatever I want with you," he smiled, coming closer.

"No!" I yelled, "Get away from me!"

"What? There's no one to stop me. I'm the Kazekage's brother. I can do whatever I want," Kankuro growled. He reached forward and looped a hand around my ribs, just under my breasts.

"You wouldn't," I said, panicking, "You can't!"

Kankuro chuckled. "Oh, kunoichi, I can do whatever I want," he reminded me, "Anyway, your heart rate is speeding up. I think you like this. You have a thing for bondage?"

"Hell no!" I snapped, refusing to hear this.

"Or maybe it's a thing for me," Kankuro said, his strings made me tilt my head back, exposing my throat fully to him. Oh god, he was going to slit my throat. He was totally gonna slit my throat and throw me in some ditch somewhere. Forget rape – he was going to kill me. Why else would he do this? I shut my eyes, praying for a savior.

That's why I was surprised when I felt his lips touch my neck, instead of the cold, biting steel I'd thought. My eyes shot open. What in the heck?

"Now, you listen, and you listen good," Kankuro muttered as he licked a trail of fire up my skin, "I'm letting you go." I let out a small moan as he bit my neck lightly. "You're obviously a rookie," he continued, pressing a soft kiss to the edge of my jawbone, "And it's not often a pretty girl accepts me without knowing who I am. But now you do." I growled at him, deep in my throat. Rookie, huh? I'd show him rookie, if I could just get these dang strings off! . . . And if he would stop kissing me, maybe my brain would jolt out of its lucid, perfectly happy state!

"Besides," he added, "You're in WAY over your head." With that final statement, he kissed me on the mouth again. He was hard, unyielding, demanding in his kiss, breaking me down, making my insides turn to absolute slush. He explored my mouth, playing with my tongue, and I'm almost ashamed to say that I didn't stop him. In fact, I began to respond to him, battling for dominance. He hummed with pleasure as I nibbled at his bottom lip. Eventually we had to break for air, breathing hard. My head felt like it was filled with fluff, enjoyable, awesome fluff.

"By the way," he murmured, tongue tracing the side of my ear, "You've been free since a couple of minutes ago. Bye bye, beautiful." With that, he was gone in a whirlwind, leaving me alone, slightly pissed, ravaged, and my mission: a failure? Maybe. Maybe not. I collected myself, kicked off my heels, and began the long way back.


	2. Deidara

"Hey, Nanami, come here, yeah," Deidara hissed, peeking around his door. I stopped making my way down the hallway and turned, puzzled.

"What?" I asked. Deidara had never talked to me before. We just passed by each other, acknowledging each other's presence, and that was the extent of our relationship. I barely knew the guy – after all, I wasn't his partner. Some psycho completely high on sugar all the time was.

"Come here, yeah," he repeated, taking a swift glance behind him, as if to see if anyone was watching our bizarre conversation.

"Why should I?" I sniffed. I was not about to follow him into his room. The Akatsuki was full of psychopaths, destructive, deadly, horny psychopaths. There was only one other girl here: Konan. We got along well, but not like we would be BFFs or anything. Everyone here was completely and utterly emotionally detached. Including Deidara . . . usually. Although, I did think Deidara was a girl when I first met him. So who knew anymore? Everyone had their personality and outward appearance screwed up.

"Because I want to ask you something, yeah," Deidara nodded, "Come on, yeah, hurry up." I looked at the bomb-wielder dubiously.

"You won't blow me up?" I huffed. I knew what he was capable of.

"I swear on my bleeding heart that I will not blow your body up, yeah," Deidara growled impatiently, "Now get the hell in here, yeah. I'm losing patience."

I rolled my eyes. Whatever. I swept past him, whiffing his blond ponytail in annoyance with my cloak. His hair released a scent of masculine-smelling shampoo, and I almost paused in surprise. I actually wanted to stop to sniff his hair. I had to find out what hair product the girly-man used. It smelled divine!

Deidara closed the wooden door behind me as I went in. Darkness poured over me, the only light coming from the brackets of candles on the wall, bathing the stone floor in an eerie glow. Crud. I knew this had been a mistake. I carefully popped the weapons pouch on my leg, fingering a kunai with apprehension. If he attacked me, I could guarantee myself a couple of seconds before I got blown up.

"Hold on a second," Deidara muttered, sweeping through the room to light more candles. His room was quickly brighter, new candles flaring up easily, eating through the soft tallow of the wax. They were everywhere too. On the floor, the walls, any sort of surface excluding the beds and one single wardrobe. I stared at it curiously. "It's Sasori's, yeah. He keeps his puppets in there," Deidara said, following my line of vision.

"Ah," I replied, keeping it simple.

Deidara glanced at me, and then at the pedestal on the floor. "Okay," Deidara began, scratching his head as though awkward, "Nanami, yeah, I don't ask people to do this for me . . ." He trailed off, letting his eyes wander over my face. I caught my breath as his bright blue eyes locked onto my lips. "So, yeah, would you pose for me?" he blurted out.

I blinked. Wasn't expecting that.

"Really?" I asked, "You want me to pose for you? For what?"

"A statue, yeah," Deidara sniffed, "What else?"

Okay, now I was really baffled. There had to be some ulterior motive here. "Why should I?" I repeated, "Huh?"

Deidara sighed exasperatedly. "Look, you're the only one who seems to have any good taste in art. Also, you're the only one that wouldn't gut me, yeah. C'mon, please?" He held his hands palm-out to me, showing me his weird mouths. Yes, I said mouths. "I won't bite . . . much," he added, at which time the mouths on his hands grinned crookedly to match the one on his face, tongues flickering out.

"Sure?" I agreed.

"Awesome, yeah!" Deidara exclaimed, hands already reaching into his clay pouch. "Stand there," he gestured, towards the raised circle on the floor. He fussed around while I stood on the podium. He buzzed around me excitedly. "Take off your cloak, yeah." "Lift your chin." "Turn left a little, yeah." "Move your foot back, yeah." And on and on and on.

"Deidara," I ground out, "Are you freaking finished yet?" He finished posturing where he wanted my hand to be, warmth flooding my veins where his fingers touched. He gave me a dirty look.

"You can't rush true art, yeah," he said, touchy in the extreme, "So shush." He said this last part as a whisper, running his fingers over my lips. I felt the fluttering over my mouth and inhaled sharply. I knew he didn't think anything of it, I was just like a movable doll to him, but gosh . . . I hoped that this was over soon – I didn't know how long I could stand the flipping of my stomach. Unfortunately, I knew what that feeling was. Attraction. Dangit all.

Deidara finally stood back from me, taking me in. I was posed slightly twisted, my feet spaced apart, one hand languidly hanging by my side and the other on the back of my neck. My chin was raised, gaze proud, my hair sprawled over my shoulders almost carelessly, but I knew – at least – it had taken him about fifteen minutes alone to fix the black strands in the right way.

"Okay, yeah, now don't move," he stressed.

"If I could I would, but I can't so I won't," I said with minimal facial movement.

Deidara grunted a reply and looked downwards toward his hands, which were munching merrily along. I watched them, flicking my eyes quickly to his palms, fascinated. Could he taste things with them? Did he control them or were they a separate system on their own?

He looked up at me and blinked, like he just realized what I looked like. He ran his eyes over my figure slowly, taking in the 'masterpiece' he had created apparently. From toes, all the way up, he looked. And back again. To the clinging of my leggings, to the draping of my dress, to the skin peeking out between the crossing of fishnet – he saw it. I felt a flush creeping up the back of my neck.

"Deidara?" I asked, a little jumpy, "How long is the sculpting going to take?"

"That's the easy part, yeah," he grinned, snapping out of it. His hands spit out the clay they had been chewing. "Not long at all."

Deidara started by forming a formless blob. He pulled at it, stretching it out to my height, and narrowed the body. It took him only a couple minutes to create a blank figure with my specific stats. I was impressed. Then came the details. He started with my feet, working in front of me so I could see the statue being created. First he modeled my foot, taking care to look back at mine for reflection. He shaped the separate toes, carved my toenails out of a lump of nothing. Everything he did was deliberate, whether it was pressing his fingers into a crease or allowing his tongues to lick up bits of unneeded clay.

And the weird thing was – I could almost feel it. I could feel him throughout my real body as he shaped the statue in the same places. I could imagine his hands smoothing up the back of my calves, his hand-mouths licking the back of my knees. His fingers clenching my thighs, higher and higher until my dress became formed. Then he was running his hands over my hips, fingers sculpting my waist, sculpting my chest, my individual fingers. The sheer intensity in Deidara's eyes and movements, slightly biting his lip, made me feel hot all over.

Okay, this was really twisted.

It was just a sculpture.

I was getting excited . . . because of a lifeless lump of clay.

Oh wow.

"Tired, yeah, Nanami?" Deidara interrupted, checking on me for a second as he perfected the curve of my neck. I shivered as ghostly totally-not-there hands caressed the same patch of skin he was creating.

"Fine," I breathed.

"I just have to do your face and your hair now," Deidara soothed, "It's almost done."

"'Kay," I murmured, torn between happiness and disappointment seeing the sculpture completed.

I tried to blank out my mind. I was a kunoichi. A registered ninja, strong and smart enough to be undercover in an S-ranked base of criminals. I had training. But training had nothing on this.

His fingers pinched at my face, creating my lips. His fingernails carved my eyes, complete with eyelashes. His mouths licked the bridge of my nose, leveling the clay. His hands were amazing. His hands were god-like. He was creating me, out of nothing. Deidara. Oh, Deidara.

"Okay, yeah," Deidara nodded, "You can move now."

My limbs fell in my sides as usual, in relief. One of my hands had been getting numb. But getting the circulation back in my fingers did nothing to help the fire in my veins. I was practically buzzing with energy. I stepped over to his side, nonchalant.

"So?" Deidara asked, his visible eyebrow raised, "What do you think, yeah?"

I think I wanted to jump you.

"The statue?" I said intelligently.

"What else?" he snorted, brushing back a stray strand of gold from his face with skillful, albeit clay-caked and mouthy, hands.

I bit my lip, trying to focus, and checked out the statue. It was like looking into a mirror, just one with a single color. Everything was there. From the dip of my throat to the slight buffing on my neck-collar from battles, he got everything.

"From the way your mouth is hanging open, I'm guessing I did a good job, yeah," Deidara smirked, "I always do." I quickly snapped my jaw shut, not realizing I had opened it. "You see the slight shading of the -," he started again, rattling on about art terms that I hadn't realized existed. But I zoned out. I swear. One minute, the statue, the room, Deidara – and then suddenly just Deidara. He was only slightly taller than me, broad shoulders underneath his Akatsuki cloak. A smug grin on his face – one that was suddenly turning my insides into lava, seeing that cockiness. Blue eye, alive with light, and a glint of metal from his scope underneath his bang. This is what he loved to do. I would sincerely model for him every day if only to see how happy it made him. And seeing him happy – made me happy.

Then I noticed Deidara making hand signals, almost slowly as if to savor the motions. What the heck was he doing? He grabbed my forearm after he finished (oh, sweet burn) and dragged me over to a corner in the room (why didn't I notice that when I got in here?). He pressed me up against the wall, his body flush against mine in a pleasant way.

"Art is a bang!" he crowed cheerfully as he initiated his jutsu.

What the –

With an explosion that seemed to rock the ground beneath our feet, he blew up the statue. Into bits not even big enough to constitute as gravel. And no, I am NOT kidding. Hot wind rushed past us, whipping my hair and his into a multi-colored frenzy, stinging bits of clay shooting in every direction. For the most part, Deidara protected me well enough from the blast, but not entirely.

The aftermath was havoc. The air was thick with smoke and dust, clay punched into the wall with vengeance. It even crunched under my feet as I shifted slightly. "Deidara," I coughed out, "The hell was that?!" Deidara shook some dust out of his hair, looking positively radiant.

"That was art, yeah," he whispered reverently, involuntarily clutching me closer to him. I could feel his heart pounding beneath his clothes, and warmth seeped out to enfold me in its lovely, lovely arms.

"Nanami," he smiled, "Thanks, yeah." I could NOT resist that smile.

"You're welcome I think," I replied, watching his face draw closer to mine, "Yeah." We met in a chalky kiss, both our lips dusted liberally with the powder still shifting to the ground. A pleasant feeling zapped through me at the contact. I relaxed into his embrace, loving the hardness of muscles against my body. His touch was gentle, spurring on the aching in my body. He pulled away and smiled, resting his forehead against mine. I met his eyes, earth coating his fine eyelashes.

"Is it sad I've been wanting to do that for a while, yeah?" Deidara asked.

"Almost as sad as this," I replied, going for his mouth again. He chuckled under my lips, his mouth curling into a smile. He moved his hands, one on the strip of skin between my leggings and boots as he held my leg up around his body, the other on the curve of my jaw. At the same time, the mouths on his hands opened up and pressed wet kisses to my skin. I jumped, surprised. I really didn't expect that. Nor did I expect it when the tongues came out, licking slick trails as they moved.

I really _shouldn't_ have liked it. But I did. I really really did. I moaned as the twin tongues fluttered against the sensitive skin on the back of my knee and the pulse point of my neck. Deidara took this opportunity to let his _real_ tongue explore my mouth. I hummed as he ran the strong muscle along my teeth, then began to stroke along my own tongue. My head swam under his ministrations.

He pulled back again. "And when I was making that sculpture, yeah, I pretended I was touching you?" he murmured, kissing my neck softly.

"Deidara," I whimpered, "Shut up already." I grabbed the back of his ponytail and yanked his head back up to mine. While we were satisfyingly crushed together, I wanted more. I braced my hands on his shoulders and started popping the snaps on his jacket. Deidara moaned into my mouth as I slid my hands into his cloak. He was wearing nothing but his trademark fishnet shirt. Somehow, that made me all the more excited.

"Mmm, Deidara," I purred as he bit my earlobe, loving the pulse of heat accompanying it.

Then I realized something.

I pushed myself of out his arms, breathing heavily. "You blew me up," I said accusingly.

"Not technically, yeah," Deidara admitted.

"It was an EXACT statue of me," I stressed, "How technical can it be? Dammit Deidara!" I picked up my Akatsuki cloak from the ground, shook off the dust in clouds, and slung it over my shoulder. However much I wanted to go back there and be kissed until I fell over from lack of oxygen, he promised. God, they were all psychopaths! What creep blew up a statue of his own ally?!

"Look, yeah, Nanami," Deidara pleaded, slightly pissed, "I would never blow you up, yeah."

I shot him a glare . . . only to be caught in sad, blue puppy-dog eyes. Shoot!

I sighed, blowing my hair up impatiently.

Deidara stepped closer to me. "You know you like me, yeah," he smirked, running a black-painted fingernail over my slightly-swollen lips.

"You know you like _me_," I mimicked, clutching his head and bringing it down to mine for another hot kiss that made my insides melt. We parted for breath, puffing heatedly.

"See you later, Deidara," I said, "Time for training with Kisame."

Deidara gave me a pout, which quickly transformed into a smile. "Hurry back, yeah," he whispered into my ear, pulling me to him, moist air on my face. My stomach flip-flopped at the desire and promise he held in his statement. He smirked again, pushing me away except for a hand.

The hand's mouth licked thickly up the underside of my wrist and I shuddered with the feeling. He released me, our fingers slowly parting. Before I could do anything rash, I did a U-ie and started to leave, dust trailing me in earthy spirals.

"Oh, and hey, Nanami," Deidara asked, leaning against the corner where we'd be kissing.

"Huh?" I implored, stopping and turning.

"Wanna do another statue, yeah?" Deidara insisted.

I merely smiled at him and walked out. Oh I would sure be back to do another 'statue' . . .


	3. Neji

NANAMI'S POV

"We should stop here for the night," my teammate ordered during our food break. He flipped his sleeves back importantly to eat, never getting even a single grain of rice on his perfect face. Ah, aristocracy. It breeds some of the best.

I, on the other hand, set into my food ravenously. I wasn't a total slob, and yes, I'd had the 'every kuniochi's table manners school', but I was freaking starving. How Neji Hyuuga, human ice-cube, was not tearing into his food was beyond me. We'd been running for seven hours straight to get back to Konoha, his home base and my temporary residence. If that didn't make you crave calories, I didn't know what did.

"Sure," I agreed, propping a foot up on a low tree stump and wiping off my hands. "You wanna take first watch?" I stared at him curiously as he carefully swallowed his bite of dumpling and pursed his oh-so-well-bred lips to reply:

"Hn."

I'd take that as a yes.

I stretched, feeling the muscles in my back pull, and shook my hair out from the loose ponytail it had been in. Unconsciously I ran my fingers through a few strands. Ugh. Bath time, ASAP!

"You know that river we passed?" I asked, standing up. Neji watched me amusedly, sipping at a flask of water from said river. "I'm going to take a bath." He blinked in response, eyebrows raised slightly. I dug around in my pack and removed my towel, still folded from the beginning of the mission. Then I spun back around on my heel and faced him. "Okay Hyuuga, number one: Stay away, number two: Stay away, and number three: If you don't stay away I will find you." I smiled sweetly at the pained look that flashed through his face quickly, letting him imagine what I would do.

"Understood," he awkwardly ground out.

"Good," I replied primly, whipping my towel over my shoulder. "Enjoy your alone time."

I stalked into the trees and started walking. The river wasn't that far. I could hear its rushing from the campsite – a soothing sound that I hoped would lull me to sleep. A tree root made me stumble, but after that it was smooth sailing. I practically walked into the river itself.

"Woah," I gasped, backpedaling. I had almost walked into the part where I couldn't see bottom. How's that for a refreshing dip? I picked up my towel from where I had dropped it in panic, shaking off some dirt, and traced a path safely down the bank. It was a low, slightly grassy area I found. The river water lapped in comforting waves through this small cove, and the bottom of it glittered with crushed mica. I spread my arms out, feeling the moonlight soak into me. I stood there for a few seconds, unmoving, before I shucked off my boots and placed the towel on top of them.

Wading into the shallows, I gathered my chakra, and stepped on top of the flowing stream. I delicately hopped across the water into the middle of the river. Okay, I was there for a bath. But I was also there to try out my new jutsu. And I was excited. From the scrolls I was studying, the jutsu looked BA, difficult, but BA. I made the motions and murmured, "Spiral Column Waterfall no Jutsu!" Powerful jets of spray burst out around me in a circular pattern, providing defense. Then, they blew outward like waterfalls, sweeping away any enemy in its path. That was the jist of it, but I didn't have some of the chakra configuration down, so only one direction did what it was supposed to, blowing out a section of the river's opposite bank. An almighty crack resounded as a massive tree leaned and broke in half, branches dragging in the water. Whoopsie. The rest of the water on the other sides just half-heartedly gushed out, the river immediately dragging the waves underneath.

I loosed control on my feet for a second and let myself float weightless, dragged along by the current. It was peaceful down here. I shot myself back up to the surface and adhered my fingers to the top of the water, chakra buzzing merrily. Now I was wet all over. I shook my head, sending water droplets flinging into the larger body. That was okay – I had needed to clean my clothes a little too. I brushed my hair back as I walked back upstream to my shoes. Time to get clean.

0o0

NEJI'S POV

Finally, after six days with this kunoichi, he would be free from her. Neji folded his legs underneath himself, wondering whether he was truly happy or sad to see her go. To be sure, Nanami Hamako was one of the most talented kunoichi he had ever met. In fact, he mused, she would surpass many of the kunoichi of his village easily. In battle, she was fluid and graceful, body flowing and dancing among her enemies' attacks to deal devastating blows to her opponents. Outside of battle, she was wise, patient, and determined, an easy person to get along with. She had certain tendencies that were foreign to his village, like a new jumping style that seemed to propel her farther along the treetops than he, and a perfected way of walking across the water. Nanami was actually capable of walking up a waterfall they encountered, rather than Neji's awkward climbing. She had true chakra control, much like Konoha's Sakura Haruno, but tricks completely unique to her village. And yet, as much as she could be strong, sometimes she displayed a weakness that somehow made her all the more appealing.

Neji flicked a piece of bark off his clothes absentmindedly. He would have to be blind not to notice her beauty as well. Any man would have to be blind not to notice her. And since he was the opposite of blind, especially with his Byakugan, every glimpse of her was sweeter than the last. And having her around was both a blessing and a curse. This was odd to the Hyuuga, for nothing seemed to stay as gray as she in his black-and-white view of the world.

However, it was thoughtful of Nanami to let them spend some time apart. Her mood had digressed into a more aggressive state ever since they had left. Why, Neji had no idea, but in fact it was partly because she liked him as much as he liked her, and was berating herself with all the same reasons.

Neji stretched, leaning against his bedroll. This was nice, peaceful. He could do some quality mediation here, for everything was silence except for the warm crackle of the fire and the gentle chirping of some crickets. Neji began to settle himself deeply into the interior of his mind when a resounding thud echoed farther off, sending a tremor through the ground. He immediately rolled into a defensive stance, smothering the fire and grabbing a kunai simultaneously.

The veins of the sides of his face bulged with chakra as he activated his Byakugan. The world grew brighter in that instance, and he could see almost everything around him. Two meters away behind a bush, a squirrel was gathering nuts. Four birds roosted high up in the tree to his right.

Nothing seemed to be wrong. Neji relaxed slightly, and then suddenly straightened. What if Nanami was in trouble? He could just picture the scenario now – her, bathing, her guard completely down, when a rogue ninja found her. Or worse, some angry shinobi from their last mission. He raced towards the river, hoping nothing had gone wrong.

Actually, as he saw, it had gone completely wrong. Because instead of finding Nanami, bleeding from various wounds of a fight, he found Nanami, completely naked and more beautiful than ever.

His breath caught at the sight of her.

The moonlight seemed to kiss at her skin, emphasizing the gentle curve of her hip, playing among the droplets of water clinging to her body. Her hair, slicked back, formed a shining ribbon of oil that dripped down her spine. Neji watched as Nanami tilted her head back, exposing the creamy continuous line of her neck. Never before had he been so tempted. Never before had he wanted to break his personal code of detachment. More than anything, he wanted to sweep up her petite body in his arms and kiss her until they were both dizzy from it.

Neji ground his fingernails into a nearby tree's bark, drawing blood. What was going on here? Why was he thinking this way?

Want. It was a new feeling for him, and he ground his teeth as he struggled against it. Damn Nanami. Every time she ran her fingers through her hair, loosened her chakra to playfully fall beneath the current, stood proud on the water, not knowing he was watching, made him want. Damn.

With a strangled hiss, Neji could only watch wide-eyed as Nanami turned, unknowingly, to face him. His Byakugan emphasized her face, and he watched, as she blinked the water out of her eyes, though some stray beads clung to her full lashes. She stretched, unawares, elongating her body. Neji saw all the muscles in her body tense, giving slight definition underneath her skin. Her legs were powerful and seemed to go on forever, and her stomach pulled taut, tight yet soft. Nanami ran her sculptured fingers through her hair, which covered her breasts, full and inviting.

Neji truly did wish to die now, rather than feeling what he did. His body felt hot, his usual features transformed into a mask of desire, and more than ever did he want to touch her.

Nanami turned around again and wrung out her wet hair, promoting a steady stream of liquid that trickled into the river. In another second, it was apparent she would go for her clothes, which were drying on a nearby boulder.

With a incredible force of will, Neji slowly straightened up, released the poor tree he was maiming, and turned in the other direction, running back to the camp as fast as he could.

Nanami turned, hearing a branch crackle as Neji fled. She smirked, flicking the water from her hair and grabbing her clothes. Time to see the results.

0o0

NANAMI'S POV

I sauntered back to camp, yes, sauntered. I was freezing, embarrassed, and tired, but sauntering. Why? Because the little Hyuuga was a pervert. Oh yes, I had definitely not planned for Neji to come rushing to see me, but in the end, oh the evil little plans I could configure with this unbelievable information. I almost died doing that turn-around part, only discovering him a couple minutes before, but the look I could picture on his face was worth it.

"See anything interesting while I was busy, Hyuuga?" I asked, choosing my phrasing carefully.

I watched him gulp and stare deeper into the fire, trying not to look at me. "Nothing that was too amazing to repeat," Neji monotoned, no indication in his voice.

"Too bad," I replied, a bit peeved. It wasn't like I was fishing for compliments, but seriously, a huge put-down? That would damage any girl's morale.

I had another flash of inspiration. "Move over Hyuuga; you're crowding the fire," I commanded. He moved a couple of inches to his right stiffly. "Thanks," I said as I flopped down next to him. Oh yes, my diabolical plan was unfolding. On one hand, my clothes needed more drying, and the other? It was fun to see how far I could push the human popsicle. It's not like I wasn't attracted to him, but liking the dude was like falling on my face intentionally. Did I want to get hurt? No, of course not.

"Aaaaaaaaah," I breathed, leaning backwards on part of Neji's available bedroll. I felt him jump as I brushed his arm, "This is nice and warm." I folded my arms behind my head, trying to look relaxed. In fact, I was freezing regardless of the fire, uncomfortable, and my wet clothes were sticking in and to pieces of my anatomy that I did not want. Regardless, even though I closed my eyes, I could feel Neji struggling not to watch me.

"Sure you don't want to take a bath? It's really nice," I asked, making sure to stress the nice.

"Quite sure," Neji ground out.

I shivered as a breeze whipped through the campsite.

"Are you okay?" Neji asked, finally looking at me. I had goosebumps all over my body, and parts of me were reacting in a way completely unflattering.

"Cold," I chattered. Maybe jumping in a river with my clothes on was a bad idea. Taking a bath separately, and having dry clothes? Good idea. Where was my brain when this all happened?

He uttered a long-suffering sigh. "Take off your clothes," he said, searching through his rucksack.

"What?" I questioned, not sure if I heard him right. Did he just ask me to take my clothes off?

"Take. Off. Your. Clothes," Neji hissed, "Or freeze." The look he threw me was none-too-friendly, considering I had tempted the poor boy so much.

I stripped off my dress, the blue fabric clinging to my skin like a, well, second skin. I shuddered as a fresh gust of wind hit my wet body. Neji was still rummaging around, and I took the opportunity to turn my back on him. No way was he going to see me . . . again! I idly twisted my dress, watching the water spill out of it.

"Here," Neji grunted gruffly, handing a replica of the current shirt he had to me. I took it gratefully, nodding, and put it on, then yanked off my annoying leggings.

Although Neji's shirt was dry, slightly warm, and smelled of him completely, nothing could warm me up. No, not even the last one.

"Let's set up for the night," Neji murmured, undoing his bedroll with a snap.

"Sure," I agreed, hoping the slight exercise would warm me up a little. I reached for my own bedroll and went to unclasp the lock holding it shut.

Too bad my fingers were numb.

I fiddled around with the strap for a couple minutes, exasperated sighs leaving my mouth occasionally. I kept missing the stupid thing!

"Let me," Neji demanded, coming up behind me. His muscled front pressed to my back in a pleasing way as he reached around me. He unsnapped the clasp easily, and it rolled outward to flop limply in the dirt.

"Thanks," I mumbled, a bit dazed from his nearness. I mean, this was _the_ Neji Hyuuga. Whose personal space bubble seemed to be about 3 times the size of most normal people? What just happened? I climbed on top of my roll and pulled a thick blanket on top of myself. Slightly warmer, and drying all the while, I tucked myself in.

Neji looked over at me, squirming to get comfortable, amusedly. "Guess I'll take first watch then," he said, his lips twitching to keep a smile off his face. He sat near the edge of the fire, back against a tree and facing me. The firelight reflected off the opal whiteness of his eyes as he stared at me, yet not at me.

"Hyuuga, that's unnerving," I complained, "There's no way for me to sleep if you keep watching me like that."

"The way I keep watch should be none of your concern," Neji replied. I flopped over to my other side, rolling my eyes. "I saw that," he murmured.

"Good," I shot back. Damn that Byakugan. I squeezed my eyes shut and drew all my limbs as close as I could to my torso. Warmth, Nanami, think of warmth. The hottest desert, the sunniest beach, a shower close to boiling! I couldn't help it - a huge shudder rippled through my body.

Oh, cold. So cold.

"C-can I b-borrow your blanket?" I chattered out, turning back over to face him.

"No," Neji said bluntly.

"W-why?" I asked.

"Because I didn't bring one," he muttered, eyes flashing at me, challenging me to ask again.

"Oh," I muttered, trying to tuck my freezing toes closer into me.

"Why don't you just move closer to the fire?" Neji asked, as if I were stupid.

"Because it doesn't make too much of a difference either way," I explained, "Besides, I wouldn't want to _bother_ you on your precious watch."

"Hn," Neji sniffed, glaring at the fire.

I closed my eyes and tried to sleep.

Ten minutes.

Half an hour.

How long have I been lying here??

I shivered nonstop throughout. Oh my god – my nose was probably going to fall off. Stupid, Nanami, stupid! What godforsaken idiot bathes in freezing water?! And then doesn't and can't dry off properly?! If I could move any of my fingers, I would smack myself!

Oh cold, cold, cold.

Even my breath wasn't making any sort of a difference.

I was going to freeze to death and become a literal meat popsicle.

0o0

NEJI'S POV

Neji heard Nanami make another body-shaking shudder, trying to keep it inside. He drummed his fingers against his leg, a nervous habit that he hadn't shown in years. Listening to Nanami freeze herself was pure torture. Oh yes, he could help her, but then he would lose his wavering morals. There was nothing more that Neji wanted right now than to hold her in his arms. Nothing.

But he had to stay detached and upright. He was a Hyuuga. Hyuugas weren't prone to wild flights of passion or strong feelings. Neji had to shove them down. He was a Hyuuga.

Nanami released a small whimper as he watched her try to settle. She was balled as small as she could be to try and warm herself. Even the introduction of Neji's clean shirt (which when Nanami had put it on made Neji feel a little too warm again) hadn't helped. It was no wonder – she had gotten her clothes wet along with her body, and then walked all the way back from the river with a storm's winds rolling in. In fact, she would be nearly hypothermic by now.

Oh, Neji knew his next words would flame the fires of his own personal hell, having already been damned the moment he saw her beautiful body and every second after that, but he had to. She was his teammate. He was obligated to protect his teammate. Now he only had to have enough self-determination to keep things where they should be.

"Nanami," Neji called, "Come here. Now."

0o0

NANAMI'S POV

Through my misery, I thought I heard Neji call my name. It sounded like a hallucination. Or maybe it was the wind howling.

He cleared his throat, once, twice, and repeated, "Come here."

I uncurled my limbs and, aching with cold, padded across the ground.

"What?"I croaked out, dragging my only source of warmth, my roll and blanket, with me. The fire had long since burned out, and Neji's eyes glimmered in the available light of the moon. He took my bedroll away from me, set it in an angle against a tree, and picked me up. "What are you doing?" I rasped anxiously, twisting slightly in his strong grip. I could feel his heart going a million miles an hour as he sat both of us down on the mat and pulled the blankets over our bodies.

His arms encircled me, and a rush of warmth flew through me in an instant. "Is this really necessary?" I asked, feeling my frozen face start to warm up with the help of my blush, "Can't you just re-light the fire?"

"No," Neji said stubbornly, "It doesn't make a difference, remember?" I felt his warm breath on the back of my neck as he held me.

"It makes a lot of difference actually," I babbled nervously, "I was just joking before. You know? A joke? Right?"

I almost jumped out of my skin when a hot tongue ran across the back of my neck. The hot conflicted with my freezing flesh, and everything felt so sensitive there. "What're you doing?" I squeaked, almost flying out of his grip.

"Nothing," he murmured, kissing my skin.

"Gosh, Neji!" I yelped, a hot streak flashing through my body, "The heck you doing?!"

"Warming you up," Neji breathed, turning my head. He nibbled on my bottom lip with even white teeth. Humming filled my ears. Oh wow. His free hand trailed up my back, prompting a stream of fire. Now I was too hot. I was going to die from the heat, but not really sure that I cared. I kissed the corner of his mouth as he drew back, tracing a path down the white plane of his neck. A rumble made its way of out his throat at my actions, and he gripped my knee tightly.

"Hey, Neji," I whispered, softly biting his earlobe as he squeezed my upper thigh this time.

"What?" he groaned when I dragged my teeth along the tender flesh. I was totally going to tell him that I knew he was watching me when I was bathing. I was totally going to tell him that I wanted him as much as he probably wanted me.

Instead, a yawn escaped my mouth. Not an ugly yawn though, since my ability to yawn goes with what my friend Ayumi calls my 'cuteness factor'. So I yawned. Neji froze, my yawning distracting him and bringing him back to himself.

"You should go to sleep," Neji said, gently pushing back my head. The wall was placed back in his eyes, to divert anything more from happening. It was probably wrong, for both of us.

"How?" I asked, my veins thrumming with warmth from what had just happened.

"Relax," Neji murmured, and I lay boneless against him in his grip, his body curving to meet mine. I snuggled in a bit closer, inhaling his clean and musky scent. "Sleep," he repeated, stroking my still damp hair. I immediately felt a tiredness come over me. I yawned again.

"Fine. G'night Neji," I mumbled, leaning against his shoulder as he held me.

"Good night," he replied, warm lips touching my forehead as he continued to stroke my hair.

I felt sleep starting to overtake me, and yet, somehow I felt so safe in Neji's arms. I didn't want to sleep, knowing that this moment wouldn't appear again, even if we were on another mission together. But I couldn't stop it.

In the end, I just went with it.

Who could have guessed that the human icecube could be so warm? I smiled, nestling closer.


End file.
